Be it decorating the cakes or pies, filling the pastries, or making macarons, pastry bags have become quite ubiquitous. These bags come with a small opening on one end and a bigger one on the other side, with a conical shape.
Usually, they are made from plasticized fabric or canvas. Not only are they used for decorating pastries, but also for cakes, cookies, and a number of other items too.
Since pastries and cakes are widely consumed, pastry bags have become a must-have for every kitchen and bakery shop. These bags are made of pliable materials and often contain semi-solid items.
They are hand-held and are pressed gently as you decorate the cakes and pastries.
However, no matter how widely a product is used, you may not find it in your local grocery stores sometimes. If you couldn’t find it, worry not, as we have listed the best pastry bag substitutes in this article to help you out!
7 Best Substitutes For Pastry Bag
1. Plastic Sandwich Bag
If you cannot find the pastry bag, you can always opt for plastic sandwich bags because they are disposable, hence incredibly useful. These bags are not only readily available, but they are easy to use and handle, making them a great substitute for pastry bags.
Plastic sandwich bags come in various types, such as slider-tip or zip-top bags, but you can also opt for standard bags. However, choose the one with the fold-over design on the top.
With a sandwich bag, you can add frosting to the bag and push all of it to one corner. Then, twist the bag to shut it and put one hand on the backside.
For making the tip or corner, use a pair of scissors; we suggest minor cuts initially, but you can increase the cut’s size as per your needs. You can add an extra metal pastry piper if you want to make designs.
2. Paper
Be it waxed paper, greaseproof paper, baking paper, or parchment, all of them can be used to make pastry bags.
To make a pastry bag using paper, get a paper and start by bringing one corner of the baking paper over to the other to form a triangle. Now cut the triangle in such a way that there is one long side and two slightly shorter ones.
After that, hold one corner of the side that faces you and flip it over so that the side becomes flat against the top side. Now twist it to bring it to a cone shape and then twist it all the way around and join the other two corners as well.
If the hole at the bottom is too small, consider using a scissor to make it big enough, so you do all the frosting and decorating conveniently. Furthermore, it would be best to tape this cone and cut it for a better outcome.
You can even add the metal piping tool, along with the frosting. Also, before you start piping, fold the bag’s top. All in all, these papers make great substitutes since every kitchen will have glossy paper or similar paper variants.
You can even use a kitchen towel if a pastry bag is not available. However, make sure that the kitchen towel is clean and fit to be used as a piping bag.
For this purpose, lay down the towel on a flat surface and add plastic wrap for the covering. Then, make the cone of this towel and tape it all together at the end.
Once you’ve made the cone, add frosting to it and cover the top by twisting it up. However, this method is only suitable if you want to fill up the pastries.
Be mindful that the kitchen towel is not suggested for decorating cakes or pies. Consider trying other alternatives, and use the kitchen towel only if none of them works.
4. Cookie Press
Cookie presses are another excellent substitute for pastry bags and are widely used for baking. There are various forms of cookie presses available, which are used for decorating the pastries and filling them up.
However, bear in mind that a cookie press is only suitable if you are experienced in the field since cookie presses don’t offer much control as pastry bags do. In addition, the cookie press won’t hold much frosting, so there will be a constant need to refill the press.
5. Depositors
If you are fond of baking or are a pastry chef, you can go for the large machinery, such as depositors. These machines do the same job as pastry bags but at a much higher level and greater accuracy.
Another thing that gives it an edge over hand-held pastry bags is that it pours the desserts at a way faster speed, making it an excellent option for bakery shops.
If you own a bakery and are sick and tired of decorating the pastries manually, opting for depositors will certainly save a great deal of your employees’ time.
Modern depositors boast highly advanced features, such as different decorating patterns, auto-shutoff, etc. Expectedly then, they cost an arm and a leg and are only suitable to be used in bakeries only.
These innovative features surely avoid all the hassle associated with using pastry bags but come at a high cost.
6. Ziplock
We all have used the Ziploc bags for storing the left-over food, but guess what? It can be used as a substitute for pastry bags. The best thing is that you won’t probably even have to buy them as we all have them in our homes.
Even if you don’t have one, just head to a local shop, and you’d quickly find these bags for a fraction of the price.
To begin with, empty the bag and cut it from both sides. Remember, it is always easier to fill it when it is propped up and opened. So, consider placing it in something big enough to fit it when it is full.
You can use a tall wide glass or a measuring cup for this purpose.
Now fold back the top few inches of the Ziploc bag and add the item you want to fill it with. You can use a spoon, spatula, or an ice cream scoop to add your desired item. Now that the bag is nearly full squeeze out the air and seal it by twisting it several times.
Then, make one small cut at the bottom corner of the bag using a scissor, and it will be enough to decorate the pies and cakes.
Even more, you can cut a bigger hole for filling the pastries if that’s what you want! When piping, hold the bag from the back and squeeze it gently.
7. Confectionery Funnel
If you are fond of baking cookies and want the pastry bag for filling the biscuits, you can opt for the confectionery funnel. It is suggested to opt for the confectionery funnel made of plastic.
These funnels could be easily bought from the bakeshops and can be used for dispensing the frosting, fondant, cream, or ganache, whichever you want!
Without an iota of doubt, confectionery funnels provide accurate pours and are a must-have for bakeries. However, the elephant in the room is that these funnels are very hard to clean.
These funnels have a whole bunch of knick-knacks inside them, which is why you may be at your wits’ end trying to clean them when food items accumulate inside them.
Some people recommend using a heat gun and towel paper for proper cleaning, which is why confectionery funnels are only meant to be used by experts only.
So, make sure to consider this factor before buying one, or you may end up wasting your money for nothing.